Description

Michael Grosso, PhD, is author of The Man Who Could Fly: St. Joseph of Copertino and the Mystery of Levitation. He also edited and wrote commentary for Wings of Ecstasy: Dominico Bernini's Vita of St. Joseph of Copertino (1772). His other books include The Millennium Myth: Love and Death and the End of Time, Final Choice: Death or Transcendence?, and Soulmaking: Uncommon Paths to Self Understanding.

Here he reviews the historical record concerning the many varied physical feats associated with Joseph. Levitations, many of them prolonged, were witnessed on numerous occasions in front of multiple church officials. He was also associated with exotic mystical "odors of sanctity". In addition to these physical phenomena, Joseph was also prone to visions and states of ecstasy. He was carefully scrutinized by the inquisition, and eventually canonized.